A lot of people I know made the New Year’s Resolution to have more joy in their lives, and I realized this is something that I want more of, too. Funny thing, I wouldn’t have considered it as a resolution until I read so many others’ resolutions.
Dictionary.com defines “joy” as
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation
If you read my post from a few days ago, you’d see that I’ve been working on - and having a difficult time - getting more joy in my life.
Particularly the high end of joy: elation.
So I’ve been trying to remember what brought me joy before I had kids.
It’s not that having kids took away my joy, it’s that they became all of my joy. I haven’t found much “great delight or happiness” outside of my kids. This is through nobody’s fault but my own.
I’m the one who made them the center of my joy. They are, and will always be, the center of my life. But I have come to realize I need to find joy outside of my children. I believe that by doing so, I will find more joy in all areas of my life, including even more from them.
That can only be good!
Here’s a short list of things I’ve come up with that brought me joy before my children came into my life, and which I’d like to have more of now.
- TV shows that make me laugh out loud! Friends did this in every episode; I was so sad it ended that I cried. My oldest son went around consoling me for days (as I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t that upsetting to me, I only cried the night of the last show’s airing), lol.
- Watching (safe-ish) wild animals near and around my home. Finches, racoons, foxes, eagles, squirrels. As long as they’re healthy and not being destructive to my property.
- Watching and listening to thunder storms.
- Rainbows. Full arches, double rainbows, brightly lit.
- Spending time with friends, particularly at cook-outs and the like.
- Having friends with whom I have a lot in common, so that we can share about those things.
- Taking classes - jewelry making or other craft classes, spirituality classes. Classes that uplift me and increase my skills.
- Delicious food; gourmet food.
- Really well-written fantasy books. I haven’t found anything that I enjoyed so much as the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams that I finished about 13 years ago. Just like when Friends ended, I felt like I was losing friends when I finished the last (huge) book.
- Being relaxed and happy in the presence of my husband (then boyfriend). Just thinking about him was joyful.
- Traveling and visiting beautiful, uplifting places.
- Really well-done movies. I prefer comedy, but love movies like Contact with Jodie Foster and Phenomenon with John Travolta.
WOW! This list is longer than I expected. It is a work in progress, though; as I remember things, I’ll come back here to add to it.
You can help remind me of things that bring me joy by answering the following question:
What is it that brings you joy?
And please feel free to share your favorite science fiction and fantasy movies and books. 
Thank you to mandolin davis for the use of this photo from Flickr.
Remember your power. Feel your power. Embrace your power.
